For some strange and unknown reason an issue of New York Weddings showed up in our mailbox the other day addressed to Amanda. Like most girls of 22, she’s already busy planning her perfect dream wedding on Pinterest, even though she’s not even engaged. And I happily pin things to my own Pinterest board entitled “Amanda’s Dream Barn Wedding”. I thought I’d send the magazine down to her at school, but was thumbing through it at dinner last night and they had some lovely food ideas in there. One of them was a waffle cone with whipped cream and berries and a salted caramel sauce. Wow. Did that look delicious.

I Googled the recipe and came up blank, but I did get a recipe for salted caramel sauce. Then I surfed around some more and discovered what seemed to be a good waffle cone maker that was currently on the market, and the rest I didn’t need a recipe for.

Now I realize not everyone is as stupid as impulsive as I am to will run right down to their nearest Kohl’s to buy a waffle cone maker, but I can always justify these things in my head with 4 kids and a bit of a farm stand/market here at my house. I’ll find a way for the thing to pay for itself. I got the Chef’s Choice Waffle Cone Maker and it worked like a dream. I used the recipe they had right in their instruction book, using the recipe they said made a lighter and more delicate cone.

This recipe I’m sure would be just as tasty with store-bought waffle cones.

Remove from heat. Stir in unsalted butter and fleur de sel or coarse salt. Transfer caramel to small pitcher or bowl. Cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Stir over low heat just until warm enough to pour before using.

Elegant Wafer Cones

This batter makes a delicate wafer cone. Cake flour ensures the best results. If you use all-purpose flour, you may need to add a small amount of additional oil to the recipe.

Yield: About 8 cones (I got 7)

2 whole eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp.vegetable oil

1 cup cake flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the WaffleCone Express™. Start with Color Control setting of 2 1/2 to 3, but change as necessary for best results.

Beat the eggs and salt in a small bowl with a fork until well blended. Beat in the sugar and beat until sugar is incorporated and the eggs have lightened in color slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in the oil. Add the cake flour and stir slowly until all flour is moistened. Beat another 15 seconds to incorporate the flour and remove all lumps. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Spoon 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) of batter in the center of the iron. Bake for 1 minute then check for proper color. Cook and additional 5 to 10 seconds if necessary.

Quickly remove the waffle from the WaffleCone Express™ onto a clean cloth towel. If the waffle is too hot to handle with your bare hands, use the cloth to help lift and roll the waffle around the cone form. Hold the cone a few seconds to set its shape then place on a wire rack to cool.

To finish the Waffles

Wash the berries and dry on paper towels. Core and slice strawberries. Add all berries to a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Toss gently to coat and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

When you are ready to assemble the cones, whip the cream to fairly stiff peaks, adding confectioner’s sugar to taste, and vanilla extract. (I put my whipped cream in a pastry bag with a big star tip, but you can just spoon it into the cone if you’d prefer.)

Pipe or spoon whipped cream along the bottom of the cone, "spilling" a bit out onto the plate.

Spoon fresh berries into cone.

Drizzle cone, fruit and whipped cream with the salted caramel sauce.

This is an impressive looking dessert that was nice and light, and although it looks complicated, it really wasn’t hard to make – especially if you skip the homemade waffle cones!